Plastic Pollution

We will not recycle our way out of the plastic pollution crisis: we need a systemic transformation to achieve the transition to a circular economy

Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes.

Plastic pollution is a global problem. Every year 19-23 million tonnes of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems, polluting lakes, rivers and seas.

Plastic pollution can alter habitats and natural processes, reducing ecosystems’ ability to adapt to climate change, directly affecting millions of people’s livelihoods, food production capabilities and social well-being. 

UNEP’s body of work demonstrates that the problem of plastic pollution doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The environmental, social, economic and health risks of plastics need to be assessed alongside other environmental stressors, like climate change, ecosystem degradation and resource use.

Press Release
Colombia, Jamaica and Panamá have joined forces to reduce plastic pollution from coastal and urban environments  Plastic waste harms human health and…

Featured Events

Barbados coast
20 Nov 2023 | Conference Twenty-Third Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Programme

About the event The eighteen Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans will convene at the 23rd annual meeting of the Regional Seas Programme in Barbados. Organized by UNEP and supported by the Government of Barbados, the Regional Seas will meet…

Green grass field and mountain at distance
07 Sep 2023 | UN Day International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2023

When: 7 September 2023 Where: Worldwide Theme: Together for Clean Air Visit the official campaign page for more information. The theme for the fourth annual International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, "Together for Clean Air", highlights the…

Textile
22 Aug 2023 | UNEP Event Pollution Free, Nature Positive, Net Zero Fashion

When: 22 August 2023, 17:00-18:30. Where: Room 201. Amidst the rise of globalisation, fashion supply chains have become progressively long and complex – and highly degrative. The industry accounts for between 2-8% of global GHG emissions, generates…

See more